Soil salinity as a driver of microbial community structure and functioning
High concentrations of salts in agricultural soils are an environmental problem that has plagued human civilization from its very beginning. Already the earliest civilizations in ancient Mesopotamia struggled with increasing concentrations of salt on irrigated fields. Also in modern times, salinization of soils, particularly of agricultural soils is still a problem restricting agricultural productSoil salinization is a pressing agricultural problem in many areas of the world, particularly in areas heavily reliant on irrigation agriculture. While the negative effects of salinity on crop plants have been widely studied, its effects on soil microorganisms have received less attention, and the impact of soil salinity on both microbial community structure and functioning is not well understood.
